Morocco appoint Renard as coach

Frenchman Herve Renard has been named as the new head coach of the Moroccan men’s national team, the Atlas Lions.

The Morocco Royal Football Federation (FRMF) announced the appointment of the former Ivory Coast and Zambia manager on Tuesday.

The president of the federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, unveiled the Frenchman at a press conference.

Lekjaa stated that the Frenchman’s major targets as Morocco gaffer will be to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, reach the semifinals of same tournament and also qualify for the 2018 Fifa World Cup finals in Russia.

The Frenchman will work with Patrice Beaumelle and Mustapha Hadji as his assistants in Morocco, and could earn as much as €65,000 as monthly salary.

He had been linked with the head coach role of Cameroon and even Kazakhstan before he is named as Morocco trainer.

Renard won the 2012 and 2015 Afcon editions with Zambia and Ivory Coast respectively, and was manager of French Ligue 1, Lille OSC, until November last year when he was sacked.